Process for vertical retort smelting of zinciferous materials



Patented Dec. 27, 1949 EPROGESS :FOR VERTICAL ,RETORT SMELT- rING DFnZINCIFEROUS IMATERIALS Willis M. Peirce; LehightonQPa assignor-to The "New Jersey 'Zinc'CompanyQNeWAYork, N. .Y., a corporationiof 'New -21 ersey Application December 22, 1948, Serial No. 66,801

1 4 Glaims.

"This invention relates ".to the (vertical retort smelting of "zinciferous materials "and contemplates improvementsttherein"whichlead to more effective smelting and "zinc recovery practice.

"The conventional vertical retort structurecomprises ,a relatively .long upright retort the upper portion of 'which'isfinsulated but notheatedland the majorjportion off-the remainder of 'theretort is enclosed in .a .Iurnace structure "so .as to .permlt jexternalheating 'eithisportion or theiretort. TIIhe unheated .upper portion of the retort is known .asgthe tcharge column, and a .irelatively short portion of :the retort depending"'be1ow the furnace structure isrferred to .as the discharge extension. agglomerated charge .of niixefd zinciferous material and carbonaceous deducing agentiis introduced .into ltheeupper .end of the charge column .and the charge -.progressiv,ly passes downwardly .throughtheretort and .is-removed .from the :bottom .of the discharge .extenslon. .The .heat impartedtdthe charge inlthat portionof .themetortsurrounded -.by the ,iurnace structure promotes deduction-.01 .the zinciferous materialby .the carbonaceouswreducing. agent'with theresulting production of metallic-zinc vapor. ,Thereactionibetween the carbonaceous reducin agent and the zinciferous material produces 103,1 bon "monoxide. "Elna: resulting zinc vapor and carbon .monoxidesproduced within the :retortare withdrawn frornt-an (outlet :near the :top of the .charge column andare passed to :a 'zinc condenser for the recovery of the zinc :in the form of -:molten metal. A small amount of air .-is .generally --admitted through :the lower end 'tof the discharge extension in order to provide an llpward draftsthrough :this lowermost portion of the charge :for the .purpose of preventing difltusion. of zinc vapor-ndownwardly -;into the spent charge wherein it :would otherwise be absorbed :anddost.

The :zinc vapor-bearing smelting :gases have been withdrawn. heretofore fIOm the :upper end of the charge column im-order :to transfer s-aiiporition-of theeensible: heat thereof -torelativelyzcool trash charge and"'for thc further purpose ofrcooli-ng *the 'jzin'c vapors win this manner in order rte r-facilitate :ftlreir .ssubsequent condensation. SAlthough the zinc vapor-bearing :gases -are predominantly :ireducin in character, they -.-further contain small amounts f {carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide ,present in the gases oxidizes Msomelof the :zinc vapor :to produce finely divided .zinc oxide which deposits progressively @both :in theiupper portiomof the .charge .columnand sin the zincvapor outlet .linein the 'form of .massive rock oxide. The mechanical removal of this rock oxide requires interruption of' the furnace operation and involves arduous hand "labor. Moreover, the resulting thermal and mechanical shocks to the refractory structureswhich-"are involved in removal of this rock oxide .are detrimental to the life ofpthe retortand of'itsaiix'iliary structures.

The presence of carbon dioxide in -the 'zin'c vapor-bearing gases in a vertical retort appears tov be produced by .two independent reactions. The "'carbon monoxide rising through the"char ge acts'itself' as areducing agent for the 'zincpxide inthecharge and is converted thereby 'toicarbjon dioxide. Inasmuch as 'this're'action'takes place ,while the gases are moving upwardly "throughlthe charge toward the relatively cool charging "end of .the retort, some of the carbon dioxidelthu's produced does not have .the "opportunityto become converted back ,tocarbon monoxlde'ibycontactwith hot carbonaceous matter 'in 'thelcharjge. The other source of carbon dioxide appears to be the reaction wherein carbon monoxide "dissociatesinto carbon dioxide and carbon. latter reaction takes place at "temperatures somewhat below those usually 1 prevailing in lthe retort gases leaving the upper end 'of'the retort. The conventional bafile-type condensers "used heretofore for condensing the zinc vapor in the retort gases have been unable .toffunction \without the production -of an excessive .amount .of physical blue povvderland zinc oxide accretions when the temperature of the zinc vapor-bearing gases entering the I condenser was approximately thesame as that of the :gases at thestimethey leavethe retort. Accordingly, it has been .necessaryheretofore to provide a .passage of appreciablelengthbetween the retort and the baffle- .typecondenser wherein the retort gases .couldhe cooled appreciably before they enter the condenser. The cooling effected in such a..passage provides -a relatively slow rate of cooling .or the retort .gases through the temperature range .';in which carbonmonoxide dissociates astaforementioned with the resulting production of-carhon dioxide, and the carbon dioxide thus produced has led to the formation of additional massive deposits of rock :oxide in the'connectinglpassage .and in the -condenser itself.

I "have now found that the presence of :carbon (dioxide in the zinc vapor-bearing gases from a vertical retort can "be virtually eliminated aby withdrawing the-gases from the lower portion iof the ,retort -and by condensing the zinc .vapordma splash type condenser. 1 have also found that when the zinc smelting process is carried. out in this manner, a relatively large amount of oxygenbearing gas may be introduced into the upper portion of the retort so as to provide a substantial amount of internal heating within the charge without. danger of fusing the charge and without impairing the effective recovery of molten zinc in the condenser.

It will thus be seen that my present invention comprises an improvement in the smelting of zinc wherein an agglomerated charge of mixed zinciferous material and carbonaceous reducin agent is progressively passed downwardly through an externally heated vertical retort wherein the charge is heated to a temperature sufilciently high to reduce compounds of zinc therein and to produce metallic zinc vapor. The improvement in 4 portion of the screw conveyor [5 may be immersed in a tank of water It in order to cool the spent charge suficiently to facilitate its handling and disposal.

An air supply manifold I1 is provided adjacent the uppermost end of the retort, advantageously above'the furnace structure. The air manifold communicates through openings [8 with the interior of the retort. An outlet IQ for the zinc accordance with the invention comprises admitting an oxygen-bearingIgas into the upper portion of the retort and withdrawing zinc vaporbearing gases from the lower portion of the retort so as to maintain a flow of the zinc vapor and retort gases concurrently with the charge downwardly through the retort, and condensing the withdrawn zinc vapors in a splash-type condenser. The oxygen-bearing gas which is introduced into the upper portion of the retort may comprise air, although it is particularly advantageous for this purpose to use air enriched with oxygen or to use oxygen alone. 7

These and other novel features of the invention will be more fully understood by reference. to

the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a vertical re tort and associated splash-type condenser useful in practicing the invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial sectional elevation taken along the line 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the upper portion of the vertical retort showing a particularly advantageous retort charging device for use in. practicing the invention; and

Fig. 4 is av sectional .view takenalong line 4 d in Fig. 3.

The vertical retort shown in Figs; 1 and 2 com prises a vertically disposed elongated retort 5 hav. ing a rectangular cross section. The cross-sectional dimensions of the retort are such that the retort has the shape of a relatively wide, narrow, L column, Except for arelatively short portion of the retort near thetop, the retort is enclosed in' a furnace structure 6. The furnace structure provides a combustion chamber 1 adjacent the relatively wide sides of the retort. structure is of conventional vertical retort design and has been found to be best adapted for ih ran r. ..h t ni o ml t th s e in chargewithin the retort. A suitable firing gas is introduced into the combustion chamber vI through valved ports 8 connected to firing gas supply pipes 9. The outer wall of the furnace structure is provided withvertically spacedair ports It for supplying air for combustion of the firing gas. The products of combustion ortne firing gas are withdrawn at the bottom of the combustion chamber through gas outlets ll. 7

The top of the retort is provided with a charge opening I2 which may be closed by a' removable cap [3. A discharge extension l4 depends from and communicates with the lowermost end of the retort. Spent charge in the extension [4 may be withdrawn in any suitable fashion such, for

example, as by a screw conveyor I5. The lowermost end of the discharge extension l4 and a This furnace is advantageously inclined upwardly and outwardly through both the retort 5 and the furnace structure 6 so as to permit withdrawal of zinc vapor-bearing gases while preventing discharge of the agglomerated charge therethrough.

The zinc vapor outlet [9 communicates directly with the inlet 20 of a splash-type condenser 2|. The condenser is advantageously of the type described in Patent No. 2,457,545 to Erwin C. Handwerk, George T. Mahler and Harry G. Haupt. Such'a condenser is provided with a rotor 22 mounted about a horizontal axis. The rotor dips into a body of molten zinc 23 maintained in the bottom of the condenser and hurls a shower of molten zinc upwardly into the condenser with such violence as to provide a turbulent shower of molten zinc therewithin through which the incoming zinc vapor-bearing gases are passed. Either a single rotor may be used, or two rotors operating in separate zones within the condenser may be usedas described in United States Patent No. 2,457,551 to Stanley Robson. Instead of a horizontal rotor, the rotor maybe mounted about a vertical axis as described in United States Patent No. 2,457,550 to George T. Mahler and Erwin C. Handwerk, or the rotor may be mounted obliquely within the condensing chamber as described in the copending application of Erwin 'C. Handwerk and George T. Mahler, Serial No. 57,588, filed October 30, 1948. The condenser may be provided with cooling means such as those 'described in United States Patents Nos. 2,457,547 and 2,457,549 to Erwin C. I-Iandwerk and George T. Mahler. The exhaust gases substantially free from zinc vapor are removed from the condenser through the discharge line 24.

In practicing the invention in the apparatus illustrated in the drawings, preheated agglomerates'of mixed zinciferous material and carbonaceous reducing agent are introduced through the charge opening [3 into the top of the retort in such manner that the smelting operation within the retort is conducted as a substantially continuousprocess. The agglomerates charged into the top of the retort'are customarily coked to produce structures possessing adequate strength towithstand the subsequent smelting operation without substantial disintegration. In the practice of the present invention, the agglomerates leaving the coking furnace, when prepared in the manner described in United States Patent No. 1,875,249to Erwin C. Handwerlg and George I. Mahler, are advantageously transferred directly to the smelting retort 5 and will enter the retort at a temperature approximating 850 C. When the transfer of coked agglomerates to the retort tical retort 5 substantially completely fill the retort. The charge is heated by combustion of the firing gas within the furnace'chamber 7, wheremes ed in a firing temperature o'f approximately lfino C. is maintained, andissm-elted with the production of: metallic-zinc vapor.- The spent'or worked-olfag'glomerateswhich passnto the discharge extension i fare' removed; pi eferably continuously, by means of thes'crew' conveyor 15'; As a result, the charge settleswithin theretort andproduces a fairly regular movement of the charge downwardly therewithin.

In accordance with the present invention, an oxygen-bearing gas such as atmospheric air' is admitted into the upper portion of the retort through the air inlets IBI Theoxyg'en'of theair combines with the carbon in the agglomerated charge with the" attendant generation ofheat; The heat thus generatedwithin the body of the charge augments the heat transmitted toth'e charge from the furnace chamber 1 and aids in establishing the desired smelting temperature uniformly throughout the; charge; Moreover; the fresh charge, although preheated, has the capacity to absorb arelatively large amount ofsensible heat and is quickly raised to the desired smelting temperature by the relatively high concentration of oxygen in the upper portion' ofthe charge. Accordingly; the internally generated" heat not'only promotes a more uniform temperature crosswise through the charge but also e's' tablishes a more uniform smelting temperature throughout the depth of" the charge. The in troduction of the oxygen-bearing gas into the upper portion of the retort also increases the thermal e'fiiciency' of the retort; The volum'e'of retort gases produced within the charge aug ments the volume of carbon'monoxide produced by the smelting reaction between the carbonaceous reducing agent and the zincif'ero'us mate'- rial. Theresulti'ng" increase in the volume of retort gases promotes, by its increased rate off-low through the charge, a more effective transfer of' heat from the heated walls of' the retort to the body of the charge therebetween. Thus, the air' introducedinto the retort in appreciable amount in accordance with the invention lengthens the e'fiecti've smelting zone Within the retort and: thereby increases the s'rnclting'capacity of a vertical' retort or any'given size.

The zinc vapor and retort gases produced by the smelting" conditions within the charge are withdrawn: through the outlet" is and thence to" the splash-type condenser 2:. The zinc vapor bearing gases introduced into the condenser 21- pass through a shower of relatively cool molten zinc therewithi'n. The shower of molten ilnetal produced Within a splash-type condenser such as described hereinbefore substantially complete- 1y fills the main"- body portion of the condenser so that all of the gases and vapors introduced into the condenser must pass through this shower before they leaveth'e condenser. a result, the condensable zinc vapor is removed from't'he retort gases to such anextent that the exhaust gases withdrawn through the condenser dis charge line 2'4 contain substantially only that amount ofzinc vapor which is in equilibrium with molten zinc at the temperature of the molten zinc prevailing within the condenser. As pointed out in the aforementioned patents relating to splash-type condenser, the temperature of the molten zinc therein may range between -approxim'ately the melting point of zinc up to about 550 (12,. or'slightl'y higheri The introduction" Of an oxygen-bearing gas into the upper portion of the retort charge makes possible the" use of more heat-generating: oxygen i at the bottbin thereor'comesinto-contact first-- withr substantially-spent charge -containing ex cesscarbonaceous material; The spent charge, which is at a relatively high" temperature and H which-containsvery little zinc oxide the endothermidheat'o'f reduction of which would absorb heat, has-'very-little'capacity for absorbing" additional heat" generated 'by combustion-oi the excess carbonaceous material in the'presence of theadded" air; As a result, the danger of of gig;

fectihjg fusion 'of" thespentcharge with consequen-t" interruption of'the retort operation has imposed a low'llmit upon the amount of air which can be int-rod-uced'into the lower portion of the" charge. In accordance with the presentinventi'on, on the other hand, theroxygen-bearinggas is' introduced intothe relatively" cool zinc oxide-containing charge' in the upper portion of the" retort which has a high capacity-for absor'bing internally generated heat and substan- 13 tially all of" the oxygen is consumed before itdesceirds to the lowerand h-otter portion of the charge? Thus; the" amount of oxygen which can be introduced intothe retortdn accordance withmymethod 'ma exceed that amount which wouldcause fusion" or the hot spent charge if introduced directly thereihtol- This advantageous" characteristic of the method of -the invem tiozr makes it possible andeven desirableto use oxygen-enriched air or oxygen alone in lieu of air as the" oxygen bearihg gas.

' The advantagesin using oxygen-enriched air or oxygen alone in accordance with my invention aretWofbl'd'i There'latlvely' higl'r concentration of inert nitrogen in air used forinternal heating of the vertical retort charge materially dilutes the zinc vapor bearing retort gases. Al'- though the splash-type zinc condensers referred to hereinbef'ore are capableof' condensing zinc in very dilute concentrations; more efiicient metal lurgical results are obtained with higher zinc vapor concentrations in the retort gases. More--' over; theinert nitrogen content of air contributes'n'othing to theoperation of theretort and is actually detrirnentalfl in' that it wastefully absorbs heat which would otherwise-be availableior promoting the smelting operatlon. Thus, by enriching the admitted air-"with oxygen, the sensibl'e heat'pro'ducedb combustionof the carbonaceous reducing agent may be increased without proportionately increasing the resulting dilution of' the zincvapon-bearing' retort gases. By using oxygen a lone in lieu of air, maximum internal heating isobtainedwith minimum dilution of theretort gases; this dilution being effected solely by the conversionof the oxygen to carbon monoxidewithinthe charge. For example, by introducing into the upper portion of the retort that amount of commercial grade oxygen alone whichwould effect the same degreelof dilution of? the zinc vapor-bearing retort gases as that efi'ected'. by a given amount of the oxygen alone-will. generate two, and one-half times as much heat within the charge asthat which would be"produced by using atmospheric air; As a practicalmatter, the amou-nhof heat available for? the reduction.- wil-l, be. more. than two and one-ha-lt times that-,avai-labl e-when usin air be.- c'a'use -none" oii'the' heat generated by the reaction be'taaveesn carbon and onygen'alone is to heat m used. a a

The concurrent flow of the zinc vapor-bearing gases and the charge in accordance with the invention also leads to beneficial results. With such concurrent flow, the zinc vapor-bearing at approximately the highest temperature prevailing therewithin. At this elevated temperaditions are such in the lower portion of the retort charge as to prevent the formation or existence of carbon dioxide, and, accordingly, there is no opportunity for the zinc vapor to become oxidized and form; rock oxide in this portion of the retort. The absence of zinc vapor in the uppermost portion of the retort also elimihates the production of rock oxide therein, as distinguished from conventional vertical retort with the relatively cool upper walls of the retort tend to become oxidized by carbon dioxide walls.

The delivery of zinc vapor-bearing gases from the lower portion of the retort directly to a tain advantages. For example, the retort gases withdrawn from the lower portion of the retort are at a temperature substantially above that at which carbon monoxide dissociates into carbon dioxide, and the carbon monoxide-bearing retort ...-gases are not appreciably cooled before they reach the interior of the splash condenser. Thus, it is possible to cool the retort gases in the splash to a zinc vapor-condensing temperature with portunity for the carbon monoxide to dissociate into carbon'dioxide. Moreover, the splash condenser is capable of effecting rapid condensation of the high temperature zinc vapor directly to molten zinc without producing physical blue powder. Accordingly, the zinc vapors in the retort gases are condensed without the production of any appreciable amount either of blue powder, which results from surface oxidation of droplets of condensed zinc, or of physical blue powder, which results from solidification of unoxidized droplets of condensed zinc before their coalescence into massive molten metal.

An additional advantage which attends the concurrent flow of retort gases and charge downwardly through a vertical retort in accordance with the present invention is the saving of zinc vapor during each charging of the retort. In conventional vertical retort practice, where the zinc vapors are withdrawn from the upper porvapor escapes through the charge opening when the retort is opened for charging. In the method of the present invention, the flow of retort gases the inert nitrogen which is introduced when air retort gases are removed from the lowerportion of the charge containing residual excess carbon.

ture there is virtually no tendencyfor the carbon.

smelting wherein zinc vapors cooled by contact.

iormed as a result of dissociation of carbon.

monoxide cooled by similar contact with these splash-type condenser is also attended by cercondenser from this relatively high temperature such rapidity that there is substantiallyno op-- tion of the retort, a substantial amount of zinc existence therein of carbon dioxide.- Thus, con- 7 descend into the lower chamber 26.

is in the'reverse direction through the retort andsubstantially no zinc vapors are present in the uppermost portion of the retort. Accordingly,

when the cap 13 is removed from the charge- Although the charge opening in the apparatus:

used in practicing the invention may be a simple opening closed with a cap [3, or the like, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the bell-type charging device shown in Figs. 3 and 4 may be used with advantage. This bell-type charging device comprises two chambers '25 and 26 both having substantially the same width as thewide side of the vertical retort 5. The thickness of the uppermost chamber 25, ,however, is considerably greater than the narrower side of the retort 5, as shown in Fig. 4, and the lowermost portion of the chamber 25 tapers inwardly to form a tapered throat 2! which communicates with the uppermost end of the lower chamber 26. The lowermost end of the chamber 26 which has a thickness intermediate that of the upper chamber 25 and that of the retort 5, is similarly provided with an inwardly tapered throat 28 communicating with the uppermost end of the retort. The throats?! and 28 are closed by conically shaped closure members 29 and 30, respectively. The uppermost closure member 29 is provided with an upwardly projecting sleeve 3! through which there extends a shaft 32 connected to the lower closure member ill]. By raising the sleeve 3! the upper closure member is raised to permit a charge present in the upper chamber 25 to When the lower chamber 26 is filled with the charge, its

closure member 29 is returned to the closed,

' zinc vapor into the upper portion of the retort with resulting possible loss of'zinc vapor. The loss of zinc in the spent residue may also be prevented by admitting through line 33 a small amount of air sufiicient to prevent diffusion of zinc vapor below the level of the zinc vapor outlet 55. IS. The small amount of oxygen in'the air introduced into the bottom of the charge is completely converted to carbon monoxide as it rises through the hot spent charge toward the zinc vapor outlet and thus presents no danger of creating an oxidizing condition in the region of the zinc vapor outlet.

It will be seen, accordingly, that my novel meth- 0d of smelting zinciferous material in ,a vertical retort leads to more effective smelting and zinc recovery than is possible in conventional vertical retort practice. The amount of air which could be used in such conventional'practice'has been limited by the danger of fusing the charge where air is introduced into the bottom and hottest (Q portion of the charge. This limitation has also Z5, is introduced into the bottom of the charge in conventional vertical retort practice, the oxygen of the air is and must be completely consumed before it reaches the relatively cool charge in the upper portion of the retort from which the zinc vapor is withdrawn. In the method of the present invention, a relatively large amount of air, oxygen-enriched air, or even oxygen alone, is introduced into the fresh charge in the upper portion of the retort where maximum advantage can be taken of the heat generation effected thereby. Moreover, the concurrent flow of retort gases and charge within a vertical retort in accordance with the invention makes possible the substantial elimination of oxidizing conditions in those portions of the retort and its appurtenances wherein recoverable zinc vapor exists. The resulting improvements in heating and zinc recovery thus characterize the method of the present invention and contribute to its increased effectiveness over conventional vertical retort practice.

I claim:

1. In the method of smelting zinc in which an agglomerated charge of mixed zinciferous material and carbonaceous reducing agent preheated to at least 500 C. is progressively passed downwardly through an externally heated vertical retort wherein the charge is heated to a temperature sufliciently high to reduce compounds of zinc therein and to produce metallic zinc vapor, the improvement which comprises admitting an oxygen-bearing gas into the upper portion of the vertical retort and withdrawing zinc vapor-bearing gases from the lower portion of the retort so as to maintain a flow of the gases and vapor concurrently with the charge downwardly through the retort, and condensing the Withdrawn zinc vapors in a splash-type condenser wherein the zinc vapor-bearing gases are passed through a shower of molten zinc and the zinc vapor is condensed thereby.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the oxygen-bearing gas admitted to the upper portion of the retort consists of oxygen.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the zinc vapor-bearing gases withdrawn from the lower portion of the retort are passed directly into the splash-type condenser at substantially the same temperature as that at which the gases are withdrawn from the retort.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the oxygen-bearing gas admitted to the upper portion of the retort consists of oxygen, and wherein the zinc vapor-bearing gases withdrawn from the lower portion of the retort are passed directly into the splash-type condenser at substantially the same temperature as that at which the gases are withdrawn from the retort.

WILLIS M. PEIRCE.

No references cited. 

